In-flight emergencies that result in off-airport landings can result in the loss of life and property. The problem of selecting a suitable emergency landing site is a complex problem that has been exacerbated by the continued development of previously undeveloped, underdeveloped, and/or unoccupied areas. During an in-flight emergency, pilots have been limited to using their planning, experience, vision, and familiarity with a given area to select an emergency landing site.
During an emergency condition, a pilot may have little time to determine that an emergency landing needs to be executed, to find or select a suitable landing site, to execute other aircraft emergency procedures, to prepare passengers, and to then pilot the aircraft to the selected landing site. Thus, management of an in-flight emergency requires timely and accurate decision making processes to protect not only lives onboard the aircraft, but also to protect lives and property on the ground and to prevent a complete loss of the aircraft.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.